Well, hello there, friends! I have been vacation planning day and night, but decided it was time to pull myself away for a few minutes to share a recent project with you.
I've painted quite a few pieces of furniture, but in the past I've always stuck with latex paint because it's easy to clean up. I usually use my Wagner paint sprayer, but a couple times I've gone the foam roller route. I've been wanting to try oil-based paint because I know the finish is hard-wearing. And since it takes longer to dry than latex, when brushing on the paint, it typically leaves fewer brush marks because it has more time for the paint to settle.
This is my inaugural oil-based paint with a brush project. And I'm pleased with how it turned out!
Yep, it's the same table, just two different angles and styled differently.
We were handed down an oak bedroom suite that my father-in-law used years ago, then my husband used as a teen. It included a dresser, two twin beds and a nightstand. It worked great in my son's room because a friend spending the night could sleep in the second bed. As Zachary got older, he wanted a bigger bed, so we did a furniture switcheroo.
That left the oak bedroom suite open for other uses. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a fan of a bedroom suite anyway. It's much more appealing to use furniture pieces that have been gathered from here and there.
I showed you last summer my
whitewashed nightstand-turned-side table. Remember, I never intended to leave it whitewashed because it's not really my style, but it did sort of fit my former coastal theme. Remember too that the "whitewashing" was really just a coat of primer that I had painted and never covered with a real coat of paint!
For a while I used the table just inside my front door, but it was too short for the space and never quite looked right.
I've been wanting to try Rustoleum's ready-made oil-based paints that
Jenny raves over, and those this little table would be a perfect guinea pig. Because I can never get enough blue, I decided to try
Rustoleum Gloss Royal Blue.
Working with oil-based paint is a bit tricky because you can't just rinse out brushes or rollers with water. I purchased an inexpensive 2" brush that I didn't mind throwing away, but I also purchased a bottle of
Klean-Strip 1 qt. Green Odorless Mineral Spirits
to clean my brush in between coats.
Other than the cleaning factor, the oil-based paint was easy to use. It's not for quick jobs that need more than one coat because it takes about 24 hours to dry before a second coat can go on. But oil is great for pieces that are going to get a bit more wear, because it's a tougher finish. (That's why most trim work in houses is oil-based rather than latex.)
Which knobs do you like best? The colorful ceramics on the left, or the brushed nickel modern style on the right?
This is the first piece of furniture that I painted with the intention to sell it. There are still about 10 pieces waiting in queue in my basement, but who knows when I'll get to them. I did set this table out at my yard sale in April and it had quite few admirers, but most yard sale shoppers want yard sale prices, not makeover prices! When I get more pieces done, I'll investigate getting a booth at a monthly local flea market.
Oh, and I finally found a piece of furniture that works better just inside my entry. It's ... tall .... and more my style ... and was a total bargain. I'll be sharing that with you soon.
Hollie
